And the winner of our Halloween Short Story Competition is...

FRANKIE HOLLIS, age 9, from Witney!!!

Frankie displayed a ferocious imagination with this little terrifying tale, with an incredible attention to gory detail. What send an icy shudder down our backs was the image of stairs covered in hair and moss. Reminded me of a brief scene from the Pet Sematary film (which Frankie must promise to not watch for another 10 years or so!).

And you will be pleased to know, Frankie, that I've showed your story to horror author Adam Nevill, and he approved of it very much!

So without much further ado, here's Frankie's tale of doom!

Paddington Story Time!!

If you are looking for something to do this half term, why not join us at Waterstones in Witney for a Paddington story time on Friday 20th February at 10.am. There might even be a marmalade sandwich or two!

Oh YES it's a Gruffalo!

It's been a few days now... too many days since our Gruffalo Tea Party without an update! Nina really put her heart into the preparation (though she enjoyed every minute of it). And we really got a sample of the lovely Witney spirit: our darling Susan, former Children's Bookseller and loved by many of our customers, who now runs the Cook shop around the corner from Hackett's, volunteered to do what she does best: story time with all the eager children that showed up.

On the same day, in the morning, a lady called Anna, who had just come in to buy a few books, volunteered to return for the event to do free face painting, just because "she loves the shop". What an utterly wonderful thing to say and do, and what great community spirit this displays - I have lived in a few places, and grown up anonymously in a big city, but have never experienced this kind of thing.
Lordy we LOVE Witney!

So here is a big THANK YOU to all of you who turned up - so MANY of you - and made this event truly wonderful with your enthusiasm. So many children showed up dressed up, bright-faced, with toy Gruffalos, and one baby even wearing a Gruffalo outfit that was unbearably cute.
There were cupcakes, and balloons, and children joining in, shouting the good lines in unison, and booksellers nearly fainting from all the balloon-blowing (but one cannot say no to a darling
child eagerly holding out a pudgy hand in balloon-envy) - good times were had by all. Hope to see you all again soon!

Half Term Joy and Banter

Bet y'all can't wait for Half Term! :)
Well, if the weather stays as it is, don't be worried about finding things to do. We've got loads of stuff in here to keep the kids entertained: stickerbooks, tales of adventure, Lego, puzzles, games, art supplies, and if the sun comes out again, we also have guide books to explore wildlife and the Great Outdoors, or to get cracking in the garden.

And to top it all off, as it's the 15th anniversary of the Gruffalo, we'll have a

GRUFFALO TEA PARTY!

There'll be pretty Gruffalo decorations, story time, cakes and biscuits, mask making and Gruffalo Hide-and-Seek.

It all kicks off on 30th May at 2pm, headed by our lovely Children's Bookseller Nina.

So hopefully we'll see you there!